The Art of Flying wasn’t simply an exhibition. Born from an oral history project collecting untold stories of commercial fly-posters active across the UK circa 1973–93, TAOF dove headfirst into the renegade spirit of an urban subculture that lived – and still lives – just outside the lines.
Twelve vivid first-hand accounts were collected, six of which were initially turned into booklets for this ongoing venture. The stories revealed how individuals stepped into the role and shared their experiences of many years ‘on the brush’: a life and livelihood about which very little is widely known.
Thematic introductions to the fly-posters’ testimonies surveyed the many lenses through which we might know a city: protest, music, mobility, law, and the practicalities of doing a job that had remained gloriously low-tech and defiantly persistent for over 150 years.
Visitors entered beneath a billboard featuring Terry ‘The Pill’ Slater, a fly-posting legend. An ambient film set the scene, while the corridor traced the vibrant, checkered history of postering. In the courtyard, striking photographs of street fly from the 1960s through to the 2000s were on display. Thanks to Jealous Gallery, visitors could roll up their sleeves for free public screen printing sessions across the weekend of 1st and 2nd November.
Histories came alive through vernacular interview texts and glimpses of audio. There were ‘Three Tales From Manchester’ plus documentary interviews and a cinematic montage of fly-posting that had appeared in film and TV. A look at street postering as it was portrayed in lens-based media, literature, and visual art presented some surprising findings. A postcard from Barcelona reminded visitors that fly-posting was a global phenomenon. Displays outside The CarWash showcased contemporary artists who had used street posters in their practice. A programme of Lunchtime Talks by activists, artists, and academics took place here on Sunday 2nd November.
This display site offered visitors the chance to fly-post prints of Martin Rowson’s reworking of an Atelier Populaire poster.
At TAOF six out of an initial series of twelve booklets disclose little-known oral histories of unauthorised commercial fly-posting across the UK. 1850 saw Charles Dickens interview London's ‘King of Bill-posters’ in the back of a horse drawn advertising carriage. Now you can read about (and listen to) accounts of lives ‘on the brush’ circa 1973 - ‘93. Tales of cities, territories, rivalries, wrangles with the law plus, in some cases, ridiculous wealth and much, much more.
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